Oracle ThinkQuest and Think.com Launched in Malta
The Maltese Government has announced that the international ThinkQuest competition is now open to schools and students in Malta. The Maltese Ministry for Investment, Industry and IT, (MIIIT) has collaborated closely with the Department of Technology in Education and the Oracle Education Foundation to ensure that the competition runs smoothly.
ThinkQuest is an international competition run by the Oracle Education Foundation, a global, not-for-profit organisation funded by Oracle Corporation. ThinkQuest encourages teams of students to design and construct their own websites around topical educational issues. Students work in teams of between three and six to produce innovative websites in categories such as 'Math', 'Arts and Entertainment' or 'Business and Industry'. Entries are separated into three groups based on the ages of the participant, and the submitted websites are assessed in a number of areas, including content, originality, educational relevance, site functionality, and team diversity. The designers of the winning website in each group are awarded a prize.
ThinkQuest websites are also added to the ThinkQuest Library, an online collection of previous competition that act as a freely available and wide ranging learning resource for students of all ages. Over 6,500 websites are contained in the library, examining topics as diverse as creating 3D animation, and guides to mining.
The Maltese Government and Oracle are also launching Think.com in Malta. Think.com is a protected learning resource that allows schools, teachers and students to share knowledge and collaborate on projects. Teachers can access a suite of tools for email, website creation, research discussion and project collaboration. When using Think.com, students are encouraged to examine and explore real-world problems, then present and share their ideas, through multitasking, multimedia learning, online social networking, online information searching, games and simulations. With the deployment of Think.com in Malta, students are able to communicate their ideas and share their learning with other schools, not just within Malta, but all over the world.
Both ThinkQuest and Think.com are sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. The Education Foundation works closely with academic communities, supplying educational programs designed to connect students across the world and engage them in innovative and collaborative project based learning. Through initiatives such as ThinkQuest and Think.com, Oracle helps students learn how to communicate their ideas clearly, how to use technology, how to interact sensitively with people from different cultures to theirs, and other important life skills that will help them to live and work in the 21st Century.
